A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced senior government official, Baltasar Ebang Engonga, to eight years in prison for embezzlement, months after he became infamous worldwide over leaked sex tapes involving other officials’ wives, MUK TV has learned
According to the Supreme Court’s press director, Hilario Mitogo, who briefed reporters via WhatsApp, the Bioko provincial tribunal found Engonga guilty of diverting public funds from professional travel allowances for personal use, AFP reports.
Engonga, widely known by his nickname “Bello”, was the former head of the national financial investigation agency. He was tried alongside five other senior officials accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in the oil-rich Central African nation.
The scandal around Engonga deepened in November when multiple sex tapes, some allegedly filmed in his finance ministry office, surfaced online while he was in a detention awaiting trial.
The clips generated a storm of internet parodies, spawning songs, dances, and even a spoof virility drug branded “Balthazariem”.
Mitogo confirmed that the provincial court imposed an eight-year jail term and a fine of $220,000 on Engonga.
